Robert Strawbridge was a Methodist convert from Ireland, who traveled to Maryland in the early 1760s to begin work as an itinerant minister. In 1763, he established the first Methodist society at Sam Creek, Maryland. There, he is credited with baptizing the first Methodist convert in America (either John Evans or Henry Maynard, depending on source). Moreover, the first Methodist building is said to have been established there in 1764.Strawbridge did not stop at Maryland, but continued establishing Methodist societies throughout the colonies, including Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. He organized the second Methodist society in Leesburg, Virginia in approximately 1765/1766. It is also important to note that around 1766, Barbara Heck and Philip Embury also established a Methodist society in New York City. Thus, the first Methodist societies were all forming around the same time in the 1760s.